Going to Work Sick is the Ultimate Way to Contaminate the World

Here's something that will make you think twice about coming to work sick. Or, if one of your co-workers shows up with some sort of bug, will make you want to quickly clock out and go home.Scientists at the University of Arizona have discovered when even one person comes to work sick, more than half of the most commonly touched surfaces in the workplace are contaminated by lunchtime.

The university study included about 80 participants who worked in an office setting. To conduct the test, one of the participants unknowingly received a droplet on their hand containing artificial viruses that mimicked the cold, the flu and a stomach bug.

All the employees were asked to go about their usual work activities. After about four hours, the researchers tested the most commonly touched surfaces as well as the employees hands. They found more than half the surfaces and employees were infected with at least one of the viruses.

The researchers discovered the items most infected were telephones, doorknobs, desks, table tops, the copy machine and the office refrigerator.

The study also showed that the employees who washed their hands and used hand sanitzer or wipes had drastically reduced infections of the viruses.